Confinement loss in hollow-core negative curvature fiber: A multi-layered model

Simple structures are always a pursuit but sometimes not easily attainable. It took researchers nearly two decades for conceiving the structure of single-ring hollow-core negative curvature fiber (NCF). Recently NCF eventually approaches to the centre of intense study in fiber optics. The reason behind this slow-pace development is, undoubtfully, its inexplicit guidance mechanism. This paper aims at gaining a clear physical insight into the optical guidance mechanism in NCF. To clarify the origins of light confinement, we boldly disassemble the NCF structure into several layers and develop a multi-layered model. Four physical origins, namely single-path Fresnel transmission through cascaded interfaces, near-grazing incidence, multi-path interference caused by Fresnel reflection, and glass wall shape are revealed and their individual contributions are quantified for the first time. Such an elegant model could not only elucidate the optical guidance in existing types of hollow-core fibers but also assist in design of novel structure for new functions. (C) 2017 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement